Fork Issue??

[nKhona]

OK so after work today I finished swapping out the indicator lights on my '04F to all LED (a write up is comming  ) and I notice a drop of oil behind my bike and one under it. I checked again after I finished the LEDs and no more oil around the bike but I notice the left side of my front wheel has these streaks on it.



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WTF is all that crap? 

I bought this bike in January-ish and have put 2000 miles on it. I did change the oil about 600 miles ago.

[Dwn4whadever]

May be that left fork is leaking.

[ambisinister]

Wipe everything down real good around the fork tube and pump it up and down repeatedly. Inspect tube carefully for leak. That's probably not the cause though, I just check it to make sure. I'd suspect wheel bearing from the pattern in the picture.

[roguegeek]

You see the build up of dirt at the bottom of your left fork? Is there build up any place else on the left fork that isn't on the right fork? Strange. Almost looks like it's coming from the bearing or speedometer sensor as opposed to the fork.

[nKhona]

Yeah, that build up is not on the bottom of the other fork nor any where else on the left fork. I'll clean her up tomorrow then take her for a ride after work. Need to cage it tomorrow anyway.

[nKhona]

Shamless bump and also to note that this morning I did not see any pools of oil under the bike.

[3imo]

Wipe everything down real good around the fork tube and pump it up and down repeatedly. Inspect tube carefully for leak. That's probably not the cause though, I just check it to make sure. I'd suspect wheel bearing from the pattern in the picture.

I'd clean her up and pump the forks up and down.  one thing though, if it were the wheel bearing , then someone used the wrong grease.

I suspect a cracked fork.  clean her up and dust the forks with baby powder to spot a crack.  if your lucky it could just be a bad fork seal.

[MarkusN]

Shamless bump and also to note that this morning I did not see any pools of oil under the bike.

A leaking fork seal genearally will not show when standing. It's during the pumping movement of the spring action that the oil is forced out.

[scratch]

I have had this happen to both my forks.  It can be a simple fix, or a hard, drawn out fix for such a small simple part.

First the easy: The damping rod retaining bolt is loose.  To get to it you will need to remove the axle.  Use a long 8mm hex key(I cut a long allen wrench from Sears and an 8mm impact socket) and a airwrench to tighten.  This is if the copper washer is okay.

Now the hard - this is because the copper washer is horribly scarred with tunnels allowing oil to leak by.  You will need new washer(s) and the airtools to remove and replace the washer and spin everthing back up tight again.  This is also if the damping rod stays in place after the bolt is removed.  Maybe have another thinner hexkey available to stick in there to help relocate the damper rod over the bolthole.

[roguegeek]

I'm actually having a similar problem, but at the top of the fork instead. I took some camera phone pics right now to show ya. You can see them all here in my gallery.

You can see in the following pic the difference between the right and left front forks. The left is clean and the right has a grease ring about an 1 1/2" from the top with dirt built up around it.


This is a close up of just the right front fork.


This is just my bike sitting in the parking lot next to my coworker's 636 that I love so much.


I've noticed this ring ever since I bought the bike over a year ago, but it's never given me problems. Opened the top of the fork on several occasions just to see if I'm losing oil and I'm not. At least not a noticeable amount. Suggestions? Don't worry about it?

[scratch]

That is an indication that the seal is leaking, not badly now, but it will get worse at anytime.  The best thing to do is to order the seals now, before the current seal decides to completely let go and allow fork oil to leak down the leg and onto your brake.  Oil on your brake is bad, mmkay?

[3imo]

i found a set of new seals on ebay for $12 including shipping.   

they are too cheap to just deal with, IMO

[roguegeek]

That is an indication that the seal is leaking, not badly now, but it will get worse at anytime.  The best thing to do is to order the seals now, before the current seal decides to completely let go and allow fork oil to leak down the leg and onto your brake.  Oil on your brake is bad, mmkay?

Might as well change it out now. Is there a specific part number I should be looking at? Can I just buy from someplace other than bid on eBay?

[roguegeek]

These will work, yes no?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Suzuki-GS500-E-GS-500-E-1989-to-2000-New-FORK-SEALS_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ35592QQitemZ4575807009QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWD1V

[roguegeek]

Too late. Just bought them. Hope they're right.

[3imo]

thats what I just bought.